


The Vigil

by Pale Rider (Boothros)



Series: Full Circle [1]
Category: The Professionals
Genre: Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-04 00:21:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6633148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boothros/pseuds/Pale%20Rider





	The Vigil

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DementedPixie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DementedPixie/gifts).



Even the professor could see his students were flagging. They had been presented with several cases and had worked well despite the fact that he still thought youngsters nowadays severely lacked stamina. He was confident however that he was about to reawaken their interest. In his opinion, he had left the best till last and with serious tone, he addressed his followers.

“The next example is rather interesting. The patient is a thirty five year old male who was injured in his course of duty as a police officer. A single blow to the back of the head rendered unconsciousness which was how he was presented to the emergency department. Since then, the original injury has shown considerable signs of recovery. The patient having regained consciousness, still however displays signs of a continual vegetative state. We have little to guide us as to how much he hears or understands as so far, he has only produced miniscule reactions to stimuli. Therefore, when we get in there, please be aware that anything you ask or say may well be interpreted by the patient and keep comments both practical and respectful. You may address him directly if you wish. Please record any responses carefully and concisely. There is on ongoing investigation surrounding the circumstances of the case, so be especially aware that confidentiality is – as always, of paramount importance. Now if you’re ready, ladies and gentlemen, please meet your last case of the day, Chief Constable Alan Cade.”

~~~oOo~~~

Stephen Murphy couldn’t quite believe his own ears as he played back the message. He had no doubt that the request was genuine, the chances of anyone connecting Bodie to a CI5 line by accident or chance was virtually impossible. Within the hour, he had set up a meeting and was on his way to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. Three hours later, he met his caller who was just finishing a busy shift.

“Doctor Fishwick? Hello, I’m Stephen Murphy. We spoke on the phone?”

“Ah, Mr Murphy, welcome! I trust your long journey wasn’t too fraught?”

“No it was fine, I’m sorry I couldn’t have got here any sooner.”

“No, no fine by me, I’ve only just come off duty so might not have been able to spare much time earlier. I’ve a coffee maker in my office if you’d like refreshment? Far less risky than the canteen!”

“Coffee would be wonderful thanks.”

Murphy gratefully followed the friendly doctor into a modern, airy office. Fishwick spent little time in getting down to business.

“As I explained, Mr Murphy, there are certain things that I can’t tell you due to patient confidentiality. The fact of the matter is however, that a ‘William Bodie’ is listed as our patient’s next of kin and so far we’ve had no luck in tracing him.”

“Doctor, please don’t be afraid to be candid. I appreciate your regulations regarding medical issues, but the number that you called was a direct line into CI5 headquarters. Any data that you have on Cade would be information that CI5 could access and as a personal friend of the patient I might be able to shed some light for you as well. I’m second in command to Harry Malone at CI5 and I too, am bound by the Official Secrets Act so as far as I am concerned, nothing spoken here must go beyond these four walls.”

“I think we understand each other then, Mr Murphy. You said you might be able to help us find Mr Bodie?”

“I know where Bodie can be found, yes. Getting him here _might_ be easy, it might not. It all depends on what he’s told. I’ll need all the information I can get before I attempt to contact him - he’s in a sensitive position too.”

“Okay, Mr Murphy, I’ll tell you what I can. I’m Doctor Adrian Fishwick as you know, and I report directly to the neurologist Professor Bull. Chief Constable Cade was brought into our accident and emergency department some four weeks ago with a head injury which rendered him unconscious. Fortunately, here at the N&N, we have some pretty serious gear in the form of MRI scanners and have been able to monitor that injury constantly. Though Mr Cade regained consciousness within hours, he’s remained in a state of stasis ever since. That is, he remains unresponsive. Tests indicate that he should be able to hear, see, feel and move but as yet no stimuli have prompted him to do so.”

“Could he die?”

“It’s possible though as yet tests aren’t indicating any factors that threaten imminent termination of life. He breathes for himself though he’s being fed and hydrated artificially.”

Murphy looked at the doctor, bemused.

“I’m sorry, I’ll try not to use so much ‘Doctor Speak’. You see the thing is, we look for certain things when we look at a brain scan, Mr Murphy. When a patient appears to be in what we call a ‘continual vegetative state’, there are areas of the brain that we home in on. In Mr Cade’s case, the original injury may well have caused such a state but the affected areas have shown considerable repair. This would suggest that his current condition may have an emotional rather than a physical cause.”

“Could you break that down even further, Doctor, in layman’s terms if you would?”

“Yes. We’ve tried to use all the physical stimuli we available to us, sound, pictures, pain…”

“What, you’ve hurt him?”

“Oh please don’t distress yourself, they are standard non-harmful procedures and he showed no reaction in any case. The one thing we haven’t been able to do is key into his emotional state. We were hoping that as his next of kin, Mr Bodie might be able to point us in the direction as to whom might be able to talk with Mr Cade. We know there was a wife at one point but we’ve been unable to find her. There’s no record of anyone else close to him. Well-meaning colleagues have visited but their presences have had no effect.”

“Alan’s marriage to Madame Arnoux was sadly one of show. Though I’ve no doubt he could have loved her, his career was too unpredictable and hers too Cosmopolitan for it ever to have worked. She’ll never welcome your call. Alan is an extremely private man, Doctor. Too private if you know what I mean. You won’t find any loving relatives for him as there aren’t any to be found. He’s really not quite the man you may think he is.”

“Do I get the impression that you are about to breach certain confidences?”

Murphy thought furiously before coming to his decision.

“The information I’m can tell you will get us both sacked if it’s leaked. If you’re prepared to hear it, I’ll continue. Please tell me if you don’t wish me to and I’ll leave.”

“Can anyone be harmed by the information you might impart?”

“No, not if you can keep it to yourself. In fact someone may just be saved.”

“In that case, Mr Murphy, please continue.”

Murphy, gave a huge sigh and carried on.

“In the late nineteen seventies, there were a pair of agents working for the former version of my current agency. They were my colleagues and friends. One of them was William Bodie. The two had been professionally partnered for six years before it was exposed that they were involved in a homosexual relationship with each other. Our old controller accepted the situation with warnings that they may be liable to blackmail, threats and publicity which CI5 could not support. Sadly after six months, threats _were_ made towards the extended family of Bodie’s partner, serious threats. Bodie refused put those innocent people at risk and took a post with his old unit, a branch of the SAS, effectively ending the relationship.”

“So what happened to his ‘partner'?”

“Ahh, his partner was offered the position of Chief of Eastland Police.”

“So Alan Cade was the partner?”

“No. ‘Alan Cade’ never existed. It was a pseudonym dreamed up to get the original agent off the radar to keep his loved ones in safety.”

“Are you telling me that Cade is a fake?”

“No not at all. Alan Cade is all you may have ever heard about. He’s a damn fine copper. He’s a quiet and private man who has wilfully sacrificed his personal happiness to the duty of service. The problem is Doctor, is that it isn’t Cade you’ve got in there. Your patient’s name is Raymond Doyle and in my humble opinion, only Bodie can help him."

~~~oOo~~~

“How long might it be, Bodie?”

“Could be a day, could be a lifetime, Sir.”

“In that case go with my blessing. Do I have your permission to keep Captain Skellen in reserve?”

“Perhaps keep him on ice, Sir.”

Colonel Hadley chuckled.

“Doesn’t sound as though you might be back any time soon, Captain. You know however there will always be a place for you here and that your future finances are all in order. No remaining issues with the ex-wife?”

“Oh god no, Sir. Jenny and I settled our differences long ago. I’ll always love her kids like my own just as I always did but she couldn’t cope anymore with a husband on special ops any more than I could cope with being a reliable husband. She’s well looked after now and loved and I’m content with that.”

“In that case, Bodie, go and do what you need to do. You’ll be missed.”

Bodie turned his back on seven years of tears and triumphs and headed for Eastland.

As Bodie reported to the reception area of the Norfolk and Norwich hospital, a man rose from the seating area to greet him.

“Mr Bodie?”

Bodie swept his eyes over the stranger. Not distrusting him, he held out his hand.

“Hi. I’m Sam Curtis, CI5. Murphy sends his apologies and hopes to be able to join you up here at the weekend. We’ve hired an apartment nearby for you where you can stash your gear.”

“I’m travelling light at the moment, Mr Curtis. I can always send for my belongings at a later date if needs be, but thanks.”

“No problem. In the meantime, I’m at your disposal should there be anything you need. Nothing’s too much trouble, Steve Murphy assures me of that.”

Bodie smiled his thanks at the man who obviously meant well. Sam Curtis looked kind and capable and Bodie wondered if Doyle and himself had ever looked that damn young when they were agents. It was a pity that Murphy was not in attendance but it obviously couldn’t be helped. There was only one man that Bodie had come to see.

Answering the call to his pager, Doctor Fishwick arrived and introductions were made. Curtis passed the keys and paperwork for Bodie’s accommodation before taking his leave.

Bodie brusquely refused coffee unable to wait any longer to be reunited with his ex-partner. Banking down feelings of trepidation he followed the doctor into a small dimly lit room. The first thing he noted was the sign behind the bed stating the name he had hated for seven years. Alan Cade was an extraordinary policeman who had left his mark on Eastland. His presence however had robbed Bodie and the world of the vibrant, vivacious Ray Doyle and even in his admiration, Bodie couldn’t forgive Cade for that.

A sudden bleep from the life support monitor pulled Bodie from his reverie and almost reluctantly, he let his eyes fall to the figure in the bed. He smiled to himself even as a deep shudder went through him. It was his Doyle alright. After four weeks of freedom, the curls were once again escaping their austere cut. Any suggestion of the start of middle aged spread was long gone. And those eyes! The most expressive eyes Bodie had ever known stared sightlessly forward, not blinking, not flickering nor moving at all. Though he knew better, Bodie half expected Doyle to leap from the bed and berate him for his tardiness.

The doctor went and fiddled with the monitor before starting a gentle monologue of explanations.

“He’s fed through that tube there, the one going to his stomach. He has to be turned every so often and a gastric tube makes that easier. The tube to his wrist supplies further nutrients and hydration and that bag down their collects any waste products. The monitor constantly reviews his blood pressure, heart and respiration rates all which remain relatively good.”

The doctor turned back to see if Bodie was taking it all in, but Bodie was a mass of tears.

“Can I … can I talk to him, Doctor?”

“Well we were rather hoping that you would, Mr Bodie.”

“Are there all sorts of rules and regulations I need to be aware of? Can I touch him? Is there a time limit on how long I can sit with him for, do I have to wear a mask …?”

“Mr Bodie, it’s fine. You’re hardly likely to wear him out. Touch him if you want to, he’s not infectious nor prone to catching anything. I know it’s all a bit strange and the equipment can look rather intimidating, but you’ll soon be used to it if you choose to hang around for a while. I really hope you do, Mr, Bodie. Alan … sorry, Ray needs someone and I think that someone could well be you.”

“Don’t say that Doctor, or you’ll have trouble getting rid of me!”  

“You can stay as for as little or as long as you like. Visiting hours finish at eight but this is a quiet area of the hospital and Ray isn’t governed by normal mealtimes. The nursing staff will occasionally need to perform procedures, but I’ll inform them of your possible presence and as long you don’t get in their way too much they’ll be fine with you being here.”

“Doctor, do you … do you have any idea of what Ray means to me?”

“Mr Murphy gave me a bit of an idea. I know as much as I need to.”

“You won’t let him die will you? How long might he be allowed to stay on the life support before it has to be turned off?

“Mr Bodie, please, please don’t upset yourself any more than you need to. People live for years with Ray’s condition before any decisions like that are ever made. We haven’t given up on him yet and have no intentions of doing so. Now I’ll leave you alone for a while. There are staff just across the hallway if you have any questions or need anything but if something happens that you consider an emergency, just hit that alarm button there. I’m here till six and I’m back at eight tomorrow morning if you want to talk more, though there’s not much that I know that the nurses don’t. If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave you both in peace. Thanks for being here, Mr Bodie.”

Bodie shakily took the doctors hand and was then was suddenly alone with the man who had consumed his life for the last sixteen years. He couldn’t help but touch. Firstly his hands went gently to the beloved face before delicately carding the oddly short hair. The silence from the bed was painfully deafening to Bodie’s ears and fresh tears flowed from his eyes. He longed to hear Doyle snipe at him for the most trivial of things but when no response was forthcoming to any of his attempts, he recognised the road ahead and sat down to his vigil.

~~~oOo~~~

Four weeks later, Bodie was happily slumbering when the dulcet tones of Carmen rudely woke him.

“Bodie, you been here all night again!”

“Oh come on, Carmen, when am I _not_ here all night?”

“You need to get a proper night’s sleep in a proper bed!”

“I get a few hours in the afternoon at the flat when you lot are dealing with him and then I drop off again at night time if I need to.”

“Well I sure hope that man o’ yours appreciates it!”

“Course he does! He’d do the same for me.”

Carmen went away shaking her head at the injustice of the world that would cause a good man such as Chief Constable Cade to be left in such a state.

Bodie smiled down at his charge. Bodie had a secret. Learning from the numerous alarms that he had called, he now kept quiet when Ray gave any indication of response. He gently cradled Doyle’s pale fingers and they twitched in reply. This was old news however and well documented. Lilian poked her head around the door in enquiry.

“Need to turn him, Bodie, you able to give a hand?”

“Course, sweetheart, let’s get to it!”

In the month since his abrupt introduction to ward D6, Bodie had not only become part of the furniture, but a valued source of help when it came to treating Chief Constable Cade. He ate with the staff in their canteen, was to be found napping in every corner of the place – including on one occasion the nurse’s station, and was as adept at treating pressure sores and clearing blocked feeding tubes as any of the regular staff. He didn’t mind the chores, relished them in fact. If they kept him closer to Doyle then so much the better. If ever he could share his secret with the hospital staff, then every bed bath and bag change would be worth it.

At eleven in the morning, Lilian rushed from Doyle’s room flustered and upset. Bodie was wandering back from the vending machine sucking on a Coke and caught her in mid-flight.

“Oh, Bodie, can you sort him for me?”

“Why what were you trying to do?”

“I was told that he had to have his nails cut. I tried with all of them but he just bunched his hands up and when I tried his feet I swear he tried to kick me!”

“Okay, petal, let’s go in and have look, shall we?”

They entered the room to both be faced by Ray Doyle’s ever vacant stare.

“Ahh, Lilian you pissed him right off, look!”

“But how the hell do you KNOW that? He looks just the same as he always looks, Bodie!”

“Oh, Lilian. I’ve spent hundreds of hours with this man when he’s been pissed off. Trust me, he’s pissed off.”

Lilian sunk to the bed, believing but not really knowing how to believe.

“How do you _know,_ Bodie? None of us can ever see any difference, but you always do. You’re not just kidding yourself are you? Wishful thinking and all that? You always seem so damn sure. And he always has better readings when you’ve been sitting with him. I’m not wrong am I? He’s responding to you, isn’t he?”

“Well we’ll have to see about that. Let’s leave him alone to calm down a bit and go and get you a tea and a sandwich, you’ve been on your feet since six.”

Later, Bodie entered Doyle’s room menacingly taunting a pair of clippers.

“Right, Sunshine, they say you need your nails cut. If you don’t give me any aggro I won’t ever let on to anyone that I did ‘em for you, okay? Not the nurses fault she didn’t know you were ticklish is it? Right let’s get on shall we?”

Bodie picked up a lax hand. Ten minutes later Doyle’s twenty nails no longer resembled deadly weapons. Bodie sank to his place on the bed beside his partner.

“When you coming back to me, Ray? Not that I won’t wait forever of course and you don’t have to come back to me anyway if you don’t want to. I’m not leaving this place until I’m following you out of here though, you know that, don’t you?”

Green eyes slid towards Bodie and for the briefest of moments, focused. Bodie closed his eyes and smiled before leaving the room and handing a bowl of clippings to an amazed Lilian.

On a stormy October night, Bodie met Murphy at a soulless Norwich chain pub. Bodie as always, deeply appreciated the gesture. The journey from London to Norwich was harsh and Bodie knew it. Murphy knew that there was no hope of Bodie coming to London. Though he had sent his best and most charming in Curtis and Keel, Murphy recognised Bodie’s need for an old true friend and travelled East as often as he could.

“How is he, Bodie?”

“On his way back, Murph. We’ve got a few things to thrash out like whether or not he’s willing to kiss Cade goodbye, but we’re getting there.”

“Bodie, mate! Ray hasn’t uttered a word for nearly three months. Keel, one of my deputies confirmed that the other day with a Doctor Bull? CI5 took over the Police investigation, such was the importance of Cade. You know all this, Are you saying that Ray’s talked?”

“No he hasn’t talked as such.”

“Oh for Christ sakes, Bodie, it has been, MONTHS! Are you sure that this isn’t all too much stress on you? You talk like Ray’s about to just walk out of there when the medics have virtually no hope whatsoever!”

“Thanks for coming, Murph. I’ll only walk out of that place with Ray Doyle by my side. If you don’t believe that that will happen, then please go now and don’t come back.”

Bodie was thoroughly depressed as the cab dropped him at the hospital. He couldn’t understand the connection himself never mind explain it to others. Him and Doyle had always been able to speak without words. Many had accused them of being telepathic like it was a bad thing. It wasn’t the case however. Bodie hadn’t a telepathic bone in his body, he couldn’t read thoughts or minds, he could just _feel_ Doyle. The doctors could go to hell if they ever thought about taking away Ray’s feeding tube now, there would be carnage at the N &N if they ever did. Ray wasn’t choosing to show himself just yet. He still wouldn’t move, talk or eat, but Bodie knew, he just _knew_. There was only a limited time before Bodie himself was surely considered a loony and kicked right out of the place but until Ray Doyle told him to, he’d never leave. When Bodie returned to the little room, Ray was asleep. The only difference between Doyle’s condition and coma was the man’s ability to apparently sleep and waken. Bodie leant his head to the bed and slept himself.

Nothing special had happened. Bodie had retold yet another tale of CI5 woe and the look had come back. Doyle had caught Bodie’s gaze and tracked him. Before Bodie knew what happened, monitors had been screaming and Bodie had made a hasty retreat to admit the nursing staff. As he sat in the waiting area, a nurse all but fell from the room.

“He spoke! Mr Cade spoke!”

Bodie’s heart leapt and he longed to rush into the room, but this was the medic’s moment of glory. The good and dedicated staff of the hospital had saved Doyle and given him the chance of a future. Bodie was just an onlooker and he sat back with a glazed look on his face. It was only when Doctor Fishwick rushed out and beckoned him that Bodie really noticed what was going on around him.

“Come on man, he’s asking for you!”

With his heart banging like a trip hammer, Bodie entered the little room. The nurses were fiddling with the equipment like a swarm of excited bees. They all suddenly seemed to fade away as Bodie looked into a serene pair of eyes which were gently blinking back at him. Doyle had been propped up in bed and the effect that small difference made stopped Bodie in his tracks. Ever so slowly, Doyle lifted his hand towards Bodie in invitation. Trying hard not to laugh and cry at the same time, Bodie rushed to the bed and clasped the offered hand, his tears eventually winning out.

“You came back then, Sunshine?” he asked shakily.

In a tiny voice, his partner replied.

“Didn’t want to be late for Cade’s retirement party, did I? You can come if you like.”

“Only if I can bring my old mate Captain Skellen? Then what do you say we leave ‘em both here and get out of this joint?”

“If you promise that we go together, you’re on!”

“Seal it with a kiss if you like?”

“Yeah, I like.”

At that point, the medical staff did actually melt away, leaving the two their privacy.

In the end, there were rather more people celebrating Doyle’s departure the night before he left the hospital. Murphy, Curtis, Keel and Fishwick were all in attendance and a multitude of nursing staff kept popping their heads around the door with cards and gifts.

“So what are you two gonna fill your time with now you’re men of leisure then?” Murphy asked.

“Retire into obscurity.” replied Bodie happily.

“And get a small holding!” Doyle quickly added.

“And get a small holding.” Bodie echoed.

“What, you guy’s gonna live off the land?” Chris laughed.

“Certainly not! We’ve got enough pay outs between us to live out of Sainbury’s like normal people.” Bodie replied.

“We ARE getting my chickens though, aren’t we, Bodie?”

“Yes, Ray, we’ll get your chickens.” Bodie sighed.

“Certainly making up for not talking for a few months, isn’t he?” Murphy joked.

“Tell me about it!” Bodie replied, a look of mock pain on his face.

Doyle frowned then pouted which suddenly had everyone, including himself, in hysterical uproar.

~~~oOo~~~

Though leaving the hospital was an emotional experience for all concerned, Doyle still insisted they tightened the screw on their feelings with a final turn. In the hospital chapel they lit a candle for their fallen colleagues, Captain Skellen and Chief Constable Cade. They watched the candles burn down a little before turning to each other, nodding and exiting the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital forever.

As the taxi carried them from the grounds, Bodie took one last glance over his shoulder at the place where he had held his lonely vigil. Knowing just how Bodie was feeling, Doyle gently took his hand. Shaking off his feelings of melancholy Bodie smiled at the man who held his future and together they travelled towards their new lives.

~~~0Oo~~~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
